Most Rev. Professor Emmanuel Asante
The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, António Guterres, has appointed Most Rev. Professor Emmanuel Asante, as a member of the sixth Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund Advisory Group.
Most Rev. Professor Asante, the Chairperson of the National Peace Council, Ghana, joins nine other appointed members on the advisory group.
The rest of the group members are Anne Anderson, Ambassador (ret.), Ireland; Lise Filiatrault, Ambassador (ret.), Canada; Liberata Mulamula, Ambassador (ret.), Tanzania; Johannes Oljelund, Director-General for International Development Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sweden.
Others are Sara Pantuliano, Chief Executive, Overseas Development Institute, United Kingdom; Stéphane Rey, Head of Peace Policy, Deputy Head of the Human Security Division, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland; and Gert Rosenthal, Ambassador (ret.), Guatemala.
The rest are Hanns Heinrich Schumacher, Ambassador (ret.), Germany; and Marriët Schuurman, Director, Department of Stability and Humanitarian Aid, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands.
Their appointments are compatible with the Terms of Reference of the Peacebuilding Fund adopted by the UN General Assembly.
The Secretary-General expressed his gratitude to the members of the fifth advisory group who ended their tenure in March 2020 for their advice and support which has considerably strengthened the impact of the fund globally.
He said the unprecedented crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic required sustained investment in peacebuilding now more than ever.
According to the UN, countries already affected by violent conflict or the risk thereof need support to adjust to the shock that the pandemic may cause on existing situations.
The international body said without peace and security, access to health and humanitarian services is severely undermined.
This is why the Secretary-General has called for a global ceasefire indicating that consolidating opportunities to build peace is an important task for the international community and that the Peacebuilding Fund is designed to support programming that needs to be started quickly and flexibly where requested.
The United Nations Peacebuilding Fund is thus the organization’s financial instrument of first resort to sustain peace in countries or situations at risk or affected by violent conflict.
From 2006 to 2017, the Fund approved a total of $772 million to 41 recipient countries, and from 2017 to 2019, it scaled up its commitments by approving $531 million for 51 countries.
The Peacebuilding Fund’s new Strategy 2020-24 is designed to bolster the fund with a target of $1.5 billion in financing for peacebuilding, the most ambitious strategy for the Fund to date.
Consistent with the Terms of Reference of the Peacebuilding Fund adopted by the General Assembly, the Secretary-General appoints ten eminent individuals for a term of two years, taking into consideration gender and regional balance.
Candidates are nominated by Member States, including countries contributing to the Fund.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri